Just Walking In The Rain and Other Musings
by TailsLovesCosmo
Summary: Tails loves Cosmo, even if some of her habits are a bit...strange. Cosmo loves Tails too, even if she sometimes doesn't understand him.
1. Chapter 1: Just Walking In The Rain

JUST WALKING IN THE RAIN

Tails looked moodily out his window at the pouring rain. He was supposed to meet Cosmo in the park, but there was no way they could enjoy it in this downpour. And the weather report said that it would be raining all day.

"I guess I'll have to call Cosmo, and suggest we meet someplace indoors," he decided. Too bad. Cosmo loved being outdoors.

Then he saw someone on the sidewalk. They were heading this way. Was it? Yes, it was! Cosmo was coming down the street. The rain hadn't caused her to break their date.

As she came closer, it suddenly occurred to Tails that she was wearing her regular Seedrian outfit. No raincoat. No rainboots. No umbrella. She was just happily walking down the street, getting soaking wet!

Tails grabbed an umbrella, and threw open his front door. He hurried out to meet her.

"Hi, Tails!" Cosmo called, splashing up to him. "Isn't this weather wonderful! We never had rain on our ship!" She hugged him, dripping all over Tails.

"Cosmo!" Tails cried. "You're soaked!"

"Yes, it's it great?" Cosmo asked. "Don't you just love it!" She took his hands and swung them both around and around. Tails dropped his umbrella.

"What is that odd thing you just dropped?" Cosmo asked when she stopped spinning.

"It's an umbrella," Tails said, realizing he was now getting soaking wet too. "People use it to keep from getting wet in the rain."

"But why would anyone want to do that?" Cosmo asked. Tails kept forgetting that she wasn't an animal, but an intelligent, talking, alien plant. In fact, he'd seen water and light make her stronger.

"Um…Mobians aren't plants, honey," Tails said. "My fur is getting saturated with water. If I hadn't built a device to dry myself off, I'd be soggy all day after this."

"Oh?" Cosmo gasped. "Oh no! I'm being a burden to you again, aren't I?"

"No, no!" Tails said quickly. "I'm sorry. I should have realized you'd enjoy rainy weather. Please don't cry!" He gave her a hug, even though her arms dripped cold water down his back.

"I'm embarrassing you again, aren't I?" she sobbed. "I'm sorry, Tails! I don't know why you put up with a…talking rosebush alien plant thingy like me!"

"Please don't!" Tails said. "I'm sorry! I'll be happy to walk in the rain with you!"

"I don't want you to do something you don't want to do, just to make me happy!" Cosmo said.

"Come on," Tails said, taking her hand. "Let's go on to the park like we planned."

"Well…if you're sure?" Cosmo said. "But shouldn't you close your front door first?"

"Um…good idea!" Tails said. Man, he was really getting to be an absent-minded professor!

So Tails locked his front door, then, with his umbrella in one hand, and Cosmo's hand in the other, Tails and Cosmo walked to the park.

"Um…Cosmo?" Tails said after awhile. "Are you planning to jump into every puddle you see?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Tails!" Cosmo said, blushing. "You can jump in the next one we come to!"

"That's okay," Tails said, trying not to laugh.

As they walked, they passed Amy's house. She was just looking out the window as they went by. "What the--? You two are crazy! Crazy! You're a pair of twits!"

"What's Amy talking about?" Cosmo asked.

"Who cares?" Tails said. "Probably something about Sonic!"

"Poor Amy," Cosmo said as they continued their walk. "I hope she finds the kind of happiness we've found some day."

Once in the park, Tails ducked under a tree. Cosmo took off her shoes and stockings and skipped merrily in the mud.

"That's my girl!" Tails said to himself. "Well, as long as she's happy."

"Come on, Tails!" Cosmo said. "Take off your shoes! The mud feels so nice squishing between your toes!" Of course, Cosmo only had two toes on each foot, but what she lacked in quantity, she more than made up for in exuberance.

Tails rolled his eyes, but took off his shoes. Not being a plant, he thought mud squishing between his toes was kind of gross, but he would never mention that to her.

Cosmo spun him around again. Then she gave him a big kiss. She blushed. "Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, Tails! I…I guess this kind of weather lowers my self-control!" She looked down at herself. "Look at my feet! And yours! Oh, you must think I'm some kind of a nut!"

"No, no!" Tails said quickly. "I love seeing you happy." She had been so depressed for so long about her family. About her relationship to Dark Oak. About people looking strangely at her because she was a plant. It was great watching her enjoy herself. Hearing her laughter. "I love you, period, my beautiful little flower princess."

"I love you too, my handsome strong fuzzy-wuzzy!" Cosmo said, hugging him again.

Tails blushed. "Um…please don't call me 'fuzzy-wuzzy' in front of other people!"

"I won't," Cosmo promised. She looked around. "But there's no one else around now…fuzzy-wuzzy!"

They had a great time. Finally, they sat down on a soaking bridge and let the rain wash their feet. They put on their shoes. Cosmo rolled up her stockings and carried them in one hand. They held hands as Tails walked Cosmo to where she was living, with Cream and Cheese and Vanilla.

"See you again tomorrow?" Tails asked, as a shocked Vanilla pulled Cosmo inside to dry her off.

"And every day afterwards, my love!" Cosmo promised. "Forever and ever and ever!"

"Wow!" Cream said. "You two sure got wet! You've better go home and change before you catch cold, Tails!"

"Don't worry," Tails said. "I'll be fine! Bye, Cream!"

Tails realized he'd left his umbrella someplace. Oh well, maybe a homeless person would find it. Tails hurried home. Inside, he quickly dried himself off, then, suddenly cold, wrapped himself in a blanket.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting day," Tails said. "I wonder what tomorrow will bring?"

The next morning, Tails woke up with a sneeze. He felt lousy. "Oh, man," he said, placing a hand on his forehead. "I think I'm getting a fever!"

There was a knock on the door. He went down and opened it.

"Hi, Tails!" Cosmo said. "Ready for another walk? I thought we'd go to the beach today."

"Um…just a minute," Tails said. He went to his kitchen, got some cough syrup. Then he put on a heavy sweater and a raincoat. He took his spare umbrella.

"Sorry," he said. "I really should keep covered up."

"You're not sick, are you?" Cosmo asked, worried.

"Oh, no, no!" Tails lied. "I just want to be careful."

"Great!" Cosmo said, taking his hand. "Let's go! I love swimming in the rain!"

"Here we go again!" Tails said to himself. "Oh well, as long as she's happy!"

As they passed his newspaper, Tails noticed, through the plastic bag, the headlines:

"RAIN EXPECTED ALL WEEK!"

"Sure, why not?" Tails said as he allowed Cosmo to drag him down the street. "Atchoo!"

"Are you sick, honey?" Cosmo asked.

"Allergies," Tails said, not wanting to disappoint her. "I'm allergic to…wet cement."

"Oh?" Cosmo said. "Wet cement is different from dry cement? Well then, it's a good thing we're heading for the beach, where there won't be any cement! Come on! Let's run!"

As Tails started running, he thought, "One thing's for sure: being with Cosmo will _never_ be boring!"

The End!


	2. Love Means Never Having To Say

LOVE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY YOU'RE BORING

Cosmo paced the floor at Amy's house. She was waiting for Tails to pick her up. He'd promised something special today.

"Sit down, Cosmo!" Amy said. "You're going to wear a hole in the rug!"

"I can't help it, Amy!" Cosmo cried. "Tails should have been here already! What if he had an accident or something?"

There was a knock on the door. Cosmo rushed past Amy to answer it.

"Tails!" she cried, hugging him. "Where have you been? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" Tails said. "Ready for our date, Cosmo?"

"Yes, sir!" Cosmo said. "I sure am! Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," Tails said. "'Bye, Amy!"

"Have fun you two!" Amy said.

Tails helped Cosmo into his new car. He'd designed it because Cosmo sometimes got dizzy in the X-Tornado. Cosmo laid her head against his chest fur as he drove.

Cosmo had expected Tails to take her to a park, or a movie, or a restaurant. What she didn't expect was a…hardware store?

"I need to pick up some parts for my new inventions," Tails said, taking her hand and leading her inside.

The store seemed huge. They passed by paint, carpets, and kitchen faucets. Tails was like a normal kid in a candy factory. He stopped at security cameras. "This isn't as powerful as I like," he told her eagerly, "but if I increase the wattage here, and reverse this polarity, then I can boost the radius exponentially!"

Cosmo nodded her head, even though she didn't have a clue what he was saying. She struggled not to moan as he checked out another camera, then another. "This one has better range," he said, showing her one, "but this has better image definition." He showed her another. They all looked the same to her.

"What do you think?" Tails asked. Cosmo realized she hadn't been paying attention, and had no idea what he was asking her.

"Um…whatever you think is best," she said, smiling. "It's your invention, after all."

"Your opinion matters to me," Tails said. "Do you like this one or this one?"

Cosmo still couldn't see the difference. One said 180 something, while the other said 240. She assumed 240 was better than 180, and said, "Um…that one?"

"You don't mind the difference in the exponentials?" he asked her.

"Uh…yes?" she said. "Uh…which one's…better for the environment?" That seemed like a safe bet.

"Well, it depends," Tails said. "See, this one is better short term, but this one will end up less damaging in the long run. See, this one has to be very carefully disposed of because it has mercury."

"It has weeds in it?" Cosmo asked, really confused now. The only mercury she was familiar with were weeds of the spurge and goosefoot families.

"No, honey," Tails said, grinning. "Not that mercury!"

Cosmo struggled to think of another mercury. "Do you mean the planet?" she asked at last. His grin grew bigger. "You can't mean the man with the winged helmet, can you?"

Tails chuckled. "My girl is so funny!" he said, giving her a hug. "I mean the element, number eighty, mass 200.59."

"Duh?" Cosmo said brightly. "I mean…that's great, Tails!"

"Okay, so do you still want this one, or should I go with the other?" he asked her.

"Uh…long term is more better?" Cosmo asked, her brain hurting now.

"Okay," Tails said. "My Cosmo is so smart!" He walked off with the one she'd last indicated, no doubt to look at something equally dull and confusing.

"Your Cosmo is feeling like a blooming idiot!" she muttered as she followed him. Still, as she watched his eyes light up as he examined wires and tubes and cables and things she couldn't even guess at the use for, she realized he was happy. And that was all that mattered.

After another twenty minutes that seemed like twenty hours, Tails finally went to the checkout stand. Cosmo sighed with relief. She was getting a headache. She shut her eyes while standing in line, and concentrated. An invisible spore, similar in composition to aspirin, was emitted by her flowers. The spores revolved around her head, and she soon felt much better. She couldn't explain how she did it, or how it helped get rid of headaches, but it worked. How and why were Tails' department.

It was a long line, and Tails looked through a magazine on drywall while waiting. It looked terribly boring. Cosmo noticed a book on making Japanese gardens. This seemed much more interesting. She leafed through it. This seemed complicated.

"Um, Tails?" she said. "Do you think you could build something like this is your yard?"

"Oh, sure," Tails assured her. "Water pump and a few other pieces. Would you like me to pick them up now?"

"No, no!" Cosmo cried. "I mean--that's not necessary today, honey!"

"Nonsense!" Tails cried, taking her arm and heading back into the aisles. "Nothing is too good for the love of my life!"

"Me and my big mouth!" Cosmo moaned as Tails started looking over pumps. Her sisters had taken care of the pumps on their ship. Cosmo had spent most of her time daydreaming. Maybe she should have paid more attention to what they were doing, but she just couldn't find any interest in that sort of thing.

"This one is too weak," Tails said, holding one up to her face, "but this one wastes water." He held up the other one. "What do you think?"

"Uh…wasting water is bad?" Cosmo asked.

"You have such a way with words," Tails said.

Finally, they were back in line. It didn't seem as if it had moved in the last half hour or so. Cosmo didn't dare look at anything now. She didn't want him dragging her back into something else she didn't understand. At last, the cashier got to them. She ran his purchases under the scanner. The last item wouldn't scan. She tried again and again. Then she got on the P.A. system. "Price check on water pump serial number 01482390. Price check on water pump."

The people behind them in line started grumbling. "Tails," Cosmo whispered, "we don't need to get this today. We can come back another time." Then she thought about that. About having to walk through those aisles that smelled like turpentine and machine oil again. About being asked her opinion on several items that seemed interchangeable to her. "Never mind," she said.

At last, they were back in the car. Cosmo collapsed with relief. "Don't forget your seat belt," Tails said, locking his in place. Cosmo blushed. She felt dumber now than when she'd gone in there.

"So, where to now, honey?" Cosmo asked, laying her head against his chest fur again.

"I thought we'd take in a movie," Tails said.

"Great!" Cosmo cried, smiling. "What are we seeing?"

"A documentary on Sir Isaac Newton!" Tails said, his eyes shining.

"Wh-what?" Cosmo said.

"Oh, it's fascinating," Tails said. "You'll like this. See, gravity was discovered on Earth because one day, Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree, and an apple fell of and hit him on the head, and because of that, he developed the laws of gravity! Isn't that cool?"

"Oh yes," Cosmo said, "the…coolest." She sighed.

Two hours later, they were eating at a fast food place. Tails was broke after buying parts and the movie tickets, and Cosmo had had to pay for their meals. She didn't mind. It was her hope that the smell of French fries and hamburgers and mustard and ketchup would help get the smell of oil and paint out of her nostrils. The movie was already beginning to fade. Maybe if it had featured actors performing a movie about Newton, she would have been more interested, but it mostly showed old pictures and had fat guys with beards talking.

"Cosmo?" Tails asked her suddenly. "Am I boring?"

"What?" Cosmo asked, so surprised with the question that she poked herself in the eye with a French fry. "Oh no, not at all!" The fact that she had been with him, watching him enjoy himself, was enough for her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He rubbed her eye gently with a napkin, then kissed it. "Better?"

"Absolutely!" she said. "But…the other one feels left out."

"Well, we can't let that happen, now can we?" Tails asked, kissing her other eye.

He drove home slowly. They talked about their future together. It was a fun ending to a most unusual day. He walked her to Amy's front door. Luckily, Amy had the sense to stay inside and not come out and greet them.

"I had a wonderful time today," Cosmo said. And it was the truth. They kissed, and Tails promised he'd see her again in the morning.

"So," Amy said once Cosmo came inside and Tails drove away. "How was your day?"

"Most…enlightening," Cosmo said.

Early the next morning, Tails came to pick her up. "Where are we going today?" she asked him.

"There's a big robot expo at the Space and Time Museum!" Tails cried enthusiastically. "It's great seeing robots that aren't built to step on buildings!"

"Oh no!" Cosmo thought. Then he kissed her, and it didn't seem so bad anymore.

"I'm not boring you, am I?" he asked.

"Oh no," Cosmo said snuggling up to him.

Love means never having to say "You're boring!"

The End!


	3. Chapter 3 We're Having A Heat Wave

WE'RE HAVING A HEAT WAVE

It was what was sometimes called the dog days of summer. The term came from the fact that dogs do not adjust well to extreme heat. Tails, as a fox, a type of dog, knew exactly what that meant. As the temperature soared past one hundred one day in early August, Tails found that his air conditioning unit had broken down. Attempts to fix it only resulted in his getting a blast of hot air right in his face.

Tails stepped outside of his house and sat down on the front porch. Even in the shade, he was roasting. For a moment, he considered cutting his fur, but he had no doubt that he'd look not only ridiculous, but also even punier than he already did.

"Hi, Tails!" Cosmo cried, coming up his driveway. "It's such a nice day, why don't we go to the park?"

"Great idea!" Tails said to her. Maybe he could cool off there.

At the park, Tails noticed that Cosmo just sat down on a bench out in the open. As a plant, she loved the sun, and never got burned. She shut her eyes. Tails sat beside her, not wanting to disturb her, but he knew he couldn't take this heat for very long. Then she put her arm around him.

"You're so warm and fuzzy!" she said. "Mm. I may just fall asleep right here."

Tails sighed. Man, it was hot! "Um…Cosmo?" he said softly.

"Mm..I don't want to get up yet, oneesama," Cosmo said sleepily. She started talking in Seedrian, a language Tails knew very little of.

That might have gone on for quite awhile, but Tails' perspiration dripped onto Cosmo's face. "Mm…it's raining again," she said. She rolled over, and fell onto the ground. "Wha…? What happened?!?"

"Are you okay?" Tails asked, helping her to her feet.

"Just a little embarrassed," Cosmo said. "Tails? Why are you wet?" She felt his forehead. "Oh! You're all sweaty! I'm sorry! I forgot you have a fur coat on. You should get out of the sun."

Tails was relieved to get into the shade. He was still hot, though.

"Maybe you should cool off in the lake," Cosmo suggested. "You know, I always wanted a rope swing, but I don't think I could make one myself."

"Great idea," Tails said. Inventing helped take his mind off of his troubles. They went to the lake. It must have really been hot, since even Big wasn't there today. He was usually fishing with Froggy.

Tails didn't have a rope, but he found a vine that looked like it would make a great swing. He struggled to pull it loose, then finally chewed through it.

"Forgive us, dear vine," Cosmo prayed, "but your sacrifice shall not be in vain."

Tails wasn't really sure he liked Cosmo talking to every vine, tree, or other plant they had to cut down or dig up. When Cream had given Cosmo one of her daisy chains, the Seedrian had cried and begged the flowers' forgiveness for being pulled up.

"Okay," he said, looking around. The weeping willow looked like a good tree to tie the vine onto.

"Forgive us, elder, for tying this little one to you for our sport," Cosmo begged.

"Uh…I'm sure the tree doesn't mind, Cosmo," Tails said. He wasn't exactly sure that he wanted to find out if he was right or not.

"It never hurts to be polite," Cosmo said. "That looks nice. Maybe someday you could add a seat to it."

"Sure," Tails said. "I'll see what I can come up with."

"You're so smart, Tails!" Cosmo said, clapping her hands.

"Just let me check to make sure the rope's safe and the knots will hold," Tails said. By now, he was really perspiring. How did Earth foxes stand not being able to sweat?

Everything seemed fine. He held the rope out to her. "Ladies first."

Cosmo curtsied. "Thank you, kind sir." She turned to the tree. "Thank you, elder." She grabbed the rope and he gave her a little push. She swung over the lake, then came back. He gave her a second push. This time, she leaped from the rope, somersaulted, and made a perfect swan dive.

"The water's great!" she cried. "Come on in!"

"Okay," he said. "Here I come!"

Tails took the rope and swung, using his tails to get momentum. He wanted to do a cannonball, but ended up with a belly flop. As he went under, he noticed that despite the heat in the air, the water was freezing!

"Cold cold cold!" he said, shaking.

"Isn't this lovely?" Cosmo asked, swimming gracefully past him. "I think I'll go again! Don't disturb yourself, I can swing by myself. You don't need to get out of the water."

Get out of the water? That was exactly what Tails wanted to do. But he couldn't hurt her feelings, so he toughed it out. Luckily, by the time she landed near him, he was used to it.

Until _he_ decided to use the swing again. Once he was out of the water, he was shivering. It was a relief to get back into the water. Now he had another problem. He hadn't brought a towel or blanket. He'd just assumed he'd dry out in the sun. Unfortunately, somebody up there seemed to think it was time to annoy him. The hot sun suddenly disappeared behind the only cloud in the sky. A cloud he could have sworn wasn't there before. He was fine as long as he stayed in the water, but when he came out…

"Duh, hi, guys!" It was Big. "I fell down the hill on my way here, rolled all the way down, and had to climb up it all over again!" He sounded like he was bragging.

"Ribbit!" Froggy sounded like he was ready to make another dash for freedom.

Tails sighed. He had wanted to be alone with Cosmo. And Big liked it quiet when he fished. He probably would keep hushing them if they made any noise, and who knew how he'd respond to their rope swing?

He shouldn't have asked. Big took one look at it and said, "Duh, that looks like fun!"

Tails tried to motion to Cosmo not to invite Big to use their swing, but she just gave him a strange look when he waved his hands and shook his head, then said, "Won't you join us, Big?"

"Sure!" Big said. He grabbed the rope and swung. The branch it was tied to swayed like it was about to break off. Tails made a mental note to take Cosmo to the beach next time. Big didn't fish there because Froggy preferred fresh water.

"Duh, wee!" Big yelled, flying over the lake. "Cannonball!" Bloosh! Tails and Cosmo were hit with a big wave. Cosmo, of course, loved it. Tails struggled to get water out of his nose.

"Duh, can I go again? Huh? Can I? Can I?" Big asked, jumping up and down.

"Oh Tails," Cosmo said as Big went again, "It's like we have a child of our own!"

"I'd like to think my kids wouldn't be bigger than I am!" Tails said.

"Well, you never can tell," Cosmo said. "Yellow Zelkova _was_ a distant relative."

"That's…great, Cosmo," Tails said. One problem at a time. Right now, how could he get rid of Big so that he and Cosmo could be alone?

"Duh, hey, Froggy!" Big cried. "Come back!" He started into the water.

"I'll get him!" Cosmo offered. She dived in, swimming like a porpoise, and soon had Froggy reunited with Big.

"Duh, thanks, Cosmo!" Big said. "You're the best!"

"Yes," Tails said. "Yes, she is!"

Of course, Big had to ruin the moment by falling in the lake.

"Hey, Big," Tails said once Big came out of the lake again. "Can you go down to the mini market and pick us up some sodas?" He gave him some money. "And get yourself a comic book at the same time."

"Wow, thanks, Tails!" Big said. "I'll be right back!"

Tails sighed with relief, then went over to Cosmo. "Let's go," he said.

"But…Big will be expecting us here when he gets back," Cosmo said. "That wouldn't be nice, Tails."

Tails bit his lower lip. "I'm sorry!" he said, bowing his head. "I'm just selfish, I guess! I want you all to myself! There are times when I can't see you, and I…I guess I just think Big's stealing the time I do have!"

Cosmo stroked his hair. "Didn't I promise to be with you always?" she asked gently. "Didn't I keep my promise in the end? The bad times are behind us now. We have all the time in the world."

"I love you, Cosmo!" Tails said.

"I love you too, Tails-san," Cosmo said.

"So we'll wait for our friend," Tails said.

"Yes," Cosmo agreed. "But while we're waiting…" She grabbed the swing and swung herself back into the lake. Tails shrugged, then joined her.

"C-c-cold!" he shuddered. But he had Cosmo's love to keep him warm.

When Big returned, they spent the rest of the day holding hands and looking into each other's eyes while Big fished. It was quiet, except when they raced about for perhaps ten minutes after Froggy got away again, and hardly what either one of them had been expecting the day to be like, but their time together was never boring.

As the day grew late, Tails and Cosmo said their good-byes to Big. Tails walked Cosmo to Cream's house. They said their good-byes on the front doorstep. Tails wished Cosmo could live with him, but he could imagine his parents' reactions.

"It was an unusual date," Tails said, "but I love every minute I'm with you."

"Me too!" Cosmo said. "I mean…I love every minute I'm with you!"

Tails laughed. "I know."

They embraced, and Cosmo kissed Tails on the cheek. "Sayonara, Tails-san. Until the morrow."

"Sayonara, Cosmo," Tails said. As Tails walked home, he realized the heat no longer bothered him.

Many people assume "sayonara" means "good-bye," but it actually means "if it be so," or "whatever will be will be."

Next time, Tails drags Cosmo to a museum. Can they both enjoy their time there?


End file.
